New Day Dawns
by Sehrezad
Summary: Five years after Kate's death, the truth is finally out in the open and it seems that it's not just Tony and Kate who gets a chance at happiness but others, too. Rule 12 is officially dead. Zibbs, Tate, McAbby!
1. Chapter 1

**New Day Dawns**

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything connecting to the show._

_Summary: Five years after Kate's death, the truth is finally out in the open and it seems that it's not just Tony and Kate who gets a chance at happiness but others, too. Rule 12 is officially dead. Zibbs, Tate, McAbby!_

_Written for the "From Eternity to NCIS" Challenge and the "Keeping Up With Kate" Challenge on NFA._

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

Ziva sat down on the bench and took a moment just to enjoy the sun that warmed up the early Spring air of Boston. It was nice just to be for a moment. But all too soon Gibbs' voice filled her mind and her stomach knotted.

_I want you_, he put it straight and simple like the man he was. How she wished it would be that easy. In the last months – since Somalia – they grew close and there was nothing Ziva wanted more than to be with the man in every sense of the word. But she couldn't, not until she was bearing a secret that could change the life of so many close to her.

"Adam, stop running!" she could hear a mother call out to her son and she opened her eyes to look for the familiar voice. She just caught sight of the little boy as he fell and she winced. Adam, though, didn't pay much heed to it as he quickly jumped to his feet and, running the remaining distance, he all but threw himself into Ziva's arms.

"Hey there, little one," Ziva chuckled merrily, catching the child. "You should listen to your mother." She chided him and smiled as a familiar expression appeared on his face as he cast down his blue eyes.

"What have I told you, Adam?" Her mother appeared in front of the pair with an exasperated look on her face. "I can't keep patching up your pants."

"Sorry, mommy."

Ziva could only guess that the big puppy dog eyes the boy was currently giving to his mother hadn't always worked when his father tried to appease the woman. God only knows, he must have used it countless times. The smile that was forming on the brunette's lips told Ziva that she had a hard time resisting it on her son's face, though.

"What should I do with you?" she finally asked with an sigh. As an answer the little boy squirmed in Ziva's arms till he was kneeling on her lap and with a toothy grin opened his arms to hug his mother. Laughing at her son's antics, she squeezed him affectionately then, after letting him go, she turned to Ziva with smiling eyes.

"Shalom, Ziva." She leant down to kiss the Israeli woman on both of her cheeks.

"Shalom," Ziva greeted her with a warm voice as she adjusted her hold on Adam and watched the other woman take a seat on the bench.

For a little while they sat in comfortable silence. They'd been good friends for years now – first meeting during a joint operation between Mossad and CIA in a godforsaken town somewhere is Central Asia. It was her first case as a Mossad operative… and it was a case that still haunted her every day.

Ziva was pulled out of her thoughts by a hand squeezing hers. She looked into her friend's warm hazel eyes.

"It's good to see you, Ziva."

"It was too long, yes?" she smiled and the other woman nodded.

"How are things going?"

"Well… they could definitely be better."

The woman was just about to ask what she had meant when Adam lost his patience with the adults and squirming out of Ziva's arms, he spoke up, "Can we go see the ducks?"

"Adam," the woman admonished him and the boy quickly added a "please". The women exchanged a look then stood up to follow the boy.

"I'm glad you're here," Ziva's friend told her, sneaking her arm around hers.

"Me too, Kate." Ziva bumped into her with a playful smile then watched as the woman went to catch up with her son.

Watching Adam jumping up and down excitedly and hearing his happy squeals made Ziva forget about her problems back at home. It didn't take long, though, because when she saw Kate running after her son clearly enjoying every moment she was able to spend with him, Ziva was attacked by the familiar feeling of guilt.

Deep down, she knew that the turn their lives had taken five years ago – and truly much earlier than that – wasn't her fault. Her guilt had got more to do with the fact that she was practically living the life of the woman who was currently crouched at the shore of the little pond, watching the ducks with her son.

If life were fair, neither of them should be here pretending to live a life that didn't belong to them.

"Zeevah!" Ziva heard Adam calling her name and had a hard time keeping back her tears hearing the familiar pronunciation of her name. "Come! They're eating the crumbs!" He was so excited that Ziva had to laugh. Shaking her head to clear it, she joined the couple by the lake and crouched down on the other side of Adam to watch the ducks eat.

It was nearing dinner time when they finally made their way up the stairs to Kate's house. She opened the door and Adam ran in. Ziva hesitated by the entrance, though.

"What it is, Ziva?"

Ziva turned and swept her eyes over the silent street which action was promptly mirrored by the other woman.

"Nothing," Ziva finally shook her head. If Kate didn't pick up anything unusual, she might just be mistaken. "Let's get inside and see whether Adam makes such delicious waffles as he claims he does."

With a groan that was mixed with a chuckle, Kate closed the door. "You just had to encourage him, didn't you?" She looked accusingly at her Israeli friend.

"What?" Ziva looked at her innocently. "He wants to make them for me. I couldn't really decline that offer."

"Of course," Kate chuckled. "He's so has a crush on you," she added under her breath before putting her arm around Ziva's shoulder, guiding her towards the kitchen where Adam had already been waiting for them impatiently. "But I hope you're aware that you're the one who's cleaning the kitchen after that. He is one messy cook."

"It's a deal." Ziva laughed merrily.

True to Kate's words, the kitchen looked like as if a natural disaster had hit the place when Adam finally declared that they were finished.

"At last," Ziva exclaimed excitedly as she scooped the boy up from the little chair he was standing on in front of the counter and placed him on the floor. "Now, quickly, clean up so we can eat."

When Adam scurried off, Ziva took a seat next to Kate by the table and looked at her with twinkling eyes.

"I told you," Kate said, referring to the state of the kitchen, as she reached up to brush some flour out of Ziva's dark hair. They shared a laugh then listened to Adam as he shuffled in the bathroom.

Dinner went by quickly and the little boy's chatting away with abandon made the adults smile the whole time. After dinner Adam insisted that he prepare for bed alone. Kate finally relented but followed him nonetheless to check on his doings in the bathroom.

Left to clean the kitchen, Ziva smiled to herself, listening to the noises coming from upstairs. At one point Kate declared that she was leaving Adam alone to bathe and change but Ziva suspected it was only for the benefit of Adam, seeing that Kate didn't come downstairs until the boy left the bathroom.

"He's changing now," Kate informed Ziva when she finally entered the living room. Ziva had been sitting on the couch by then staring into nothingness. "And I think he wants to watch _Hercules_… once again." When no reply came from her friend, Kate frowned and went to sit down next to her. She took her time to take in her expression then she sighed. "You're thinking about it again." It wasn't a question.

"Do you blame me?" Focusing on her, Ziva gave her a weak smile. Kate took her hand into hers.

"No." She shook her head. "But you should really give up this line of thoughts."

"I built my life on a lie. Some days it is easy to forget that but there are days when…"

"What happened?" Kate finally asked, sensing that there had to be a specific reason behind Ziva's melancholic mood. They'd had many a conversation about that subject ever since Kate was forced to give up her old life. She knew that it was hard on Ziva to fill in her place at NCIS and – after five years – Kate could only wish for Ziva to finally understand that it wasn't her place anymore – it was Ziva's own place which she had earned by hard work.

"It's been five years" Ziva finally spoke up in a small voice. "Last week was the anniversary."

"I know." Of course she did.

"It seems that that is all everybody is thinking about… which is understandable. They love you. They miss you. But it makes me feel like an outsider – which I really am," she added with a bitter chuckle.

"That is not true, Ziva, and you know that. You're a part of that team. You're not replacing me, you have to understand that. You earned your place among them… in their hearts. I'm sure they love you for who you are."

"Maybe…" Ziva gave her a timid smile, clearly cherishing the idea of having her friends' affection. "But at what cost did I earn that love? I lied to them. I watched them grieve… I still do…"

"Oh, Ziva." Kate cupped her cheek. "I wish I could make it easier for you."

"Don't worry about it."Ziva squeezed her hand that had held her cheek, then, letting it go, she stood up to walk to the large window that looked at the back yard. Pulling the curtain aside, she looked into the dark yard with a faraway look. "It'll get easier. They'll go on after a couple of days… and Gibbs will get over me…"

"Gibbs?"

"What?" Ziva turned to Kate with a confused look.

"You said Gibbs would get over you. What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Ziva was quick to reply, turning back to the yard. She sighed in relief when she could hear Adam's footsteps as he came down the stairs proudly declaring that he was ready. She could see her friend walk up to him in the reflection of the window when something caught her eyes outside. It took her only a second to register what she had seen. In that second she could see Adam in her mother's arms and the reflection of a telescope on a rifle.

"Kate!" Ziva cried out, already running towards her friend. She practically flew the remaining distance between the couple and her and with a final call of "down" she tackled the couple to the ground just as bullets began hissing over their heads. "Take cover," she instructed the woman, pushing them towards the kitchen. She could see that, while she was shielding Adam, Kate's eyes were searching for her gun. "Go!"

Fortunately Ziva knew all the places her friend was hiding her weapons – a dangerous thing with a four-year-old in the house but a necessary one when the Russian mob is after someone. Ziva carefully made her way to the mirror hanging on the wall next to the stairs and reaching behind it, she produced a gun. She quickly loaded it then, taking cover, she started towards the shattered window. The bullets stopped but she shot a round into the darkness when a movement caught her eyes. No bullets came as answer, though. Listening into the silence of the night, she turned towards the front door and checked the street for any sign of the attacker. All was silent.

With a curse, she turned and returned into the house.

"Kate, it's me," she called out before entering the kitchen and she could hear as the other woman put her gun, she had undoubtedly produced from one of the cupboards, at safety.

"They're gone?" Kate asked holding tight to her trembling child.

"For now," Ziva answered but her eyes were on the windows and the living room. "Come on, we have to go." With that she pulled Kate to her feet and gently guided them towards the front door. Grabbing the keys, Ziva quickly ushered them to Kate's car. After Kate got into the backseat with Adam in her arms, Ziva was by the wheel in a matter of seconds.

"Where are we going?" Kate asked as Ziva started the car.

"Somewhere safe," was all Ziva told her, glancing in the rearview mirror to meet Kate's worried eyes. She was squeezing her son so tightly to herself that Ziva wondered whether she wasn't making the situation worse for her son. "It will be all right, Kate," she tried to reassure her, even though her heart was beating like a drum in her chest. "When was the last time you spoke to Harper?"

"Two days ago, he was just checking up on us. He didn't mention anything that… oh, God… do you think that…?" The question died on her lips and Ziva didn't need to nod to confirm her thoughts. They both knew what it meant that they had found Kate. "What will we do now?"

"We are going home."

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

**A New Day Dawns**

Chapter 2

Tony was having a bad day… a bad couple of days, actually. So much so that by now, the whole agency knew to stay out of the way of the Senior Field Agent.

Walking to his desk, he sighed when he spotted Abby perched up on McGee's desk. Ever since last Friday, when Abby called him upon not going with the team to Louisiana to visit Kate's grave, his relationship with Abby had been strained. He'd been having a bad day back then, too and all that fuss Abby was making about the fifth anniversary of Kate's death just made him frustrated. He wanted to scream out that Kate was alive but he couldn't. Instead he made a good job at pissing off Abby and making her think that he didn't care.

But God, did he care!

He'd known for a long time that he had cared for Kate. He wouldn't have slept with her if it hadn't been the case. She deserved more than that. But they had such little time together and after her "death" he was left alone to make sense of his feelings for a woman he would possibly never see again.

Truth was that after five years, countless affairs and a doomed relationship later he still felt confused when thinking about his relationship with Kate… or lack thereof. And though he couldn't put a name to his feelings for the woman, one thing was for sure: she was there with him every day. He felt her absence, he missed seeing her teasing smile and hearing her laughter… sometimes he felt a desperate need to have her around and talk to her. Maybe she could help him sort all those confusing feelings out. Maybe those feelings wouldn't be all that confusing if she were there.

He stormed past McGee's desk intent on not paying attention to his friends but when they quickly shifted when they saw him and gave him a guilty look, he frowned and stopped in his tracks.

"What are you up to?" He walked up to them.

"Nothing," came the quick reply from both of his friends and the frown on his face deepened as he took in their guilty expressions and noted the way McGee quickly pulled down something from his screen.

"It is definitely something." He gave them a suspicious look, his interest picked. He could use a little diversion.

"Look, Tony, it's nothing important. Abby's just waiting for Gibbs… and we were just killing time."

Tony regarded them with narrowed eyes. Abby suspiciously avoided looking him in the eye and he could just tell when McGee was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Yes, they were definitely up to something. Giving them a last look, Tony slowly turned as if giving up on the interrogation. He could just see when the others relaxed and that was when he took action.

He was quick to lean over the keyboard and with pressing a couple of buttons, an image appeared on the plasma. Tony turned to look at it and he suddenly froze. There, on the plasma, there was a picture of him and Kate on either side and there was a third one in the middle… a picture of a toddler with light brown hair and blue eyes. A picture of a boy whose photos he'd been getting periodically in the last four years… a picture of his son he had never met.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed completely shocked. He couldn't really decide what shocked him most: the fact that from all the possible variations that program could generate, it was the image of his son that it had produced or the fact the Abby and McGee were playing with that program using their dead friend's picture.

"We are so sorry, Tony," Abby was quick to react to her friend's expression. "We just…"

"You just what?" Tony turned to the woman suddenly annoyed. He decided to go with the second option. "Oh yeah… you were just killing time," he spat at her and saved a withering look to McGee, too. "That is highly inappropriate, not to mention disrespectful. What the hell were you thinking playing with her like that? And especially you, Abby? You just screamed at me a few days ago because you thought I was disrespectful!" He scoffed.

"Tony," McGee stood up, stepping next to Abby. "We were sharing memories about her… and we know how close you were… we were curious…"

"Curious, huh? That's fantastic!"

"Cute kid, DiNozzo," Gibbs remarked as he strode up to his desk.

"Cute?" He didn't want to believe his ears. "That's all you've got to say? Don't you want to snap some sense into Dumb and Dumber here?"

Gibbs was just about to answer when the Director appeared on the stairs and demanded the team leader's attention.

"I've just got a call from the Marshals Service. They are concerned for the whereabouts of one of their clients. You don't happen to know about it, do you?"

"Don't look at me," Gibbs told him. "No idea what you're talking about."

"And I presume neither of your agents knows anything."

"Why would they?" Gibbs inquired not liking the idea of his team being accused of something.

"Because you are all involved."

"Involved? For God's sake, Leon, cut the crap. What's going on?"

Vance descended the stairs and walked up to the team, whose members looked at him expectantly.

"Five years ago an NCIS agent was placed under Witness Protection because of a previous involvement in a case. She's been living off the grid ever since… or she was up until now. The Marshal who was responsible for her safety was found dead in his home two hours ago. Murdered."

"I still don't see what that's got to do with us. Go, talk to the persons involved."

"That's the problem. Apart from US Marshal Henry Harper, there is only one other person who has information about our agent's identity and whereabouts. She's disappeared, too."

"It's Kate, isn't it?" Tony asked clearly worried. "She's in danger."

"We don't know yet," the Director answered after a brief silence of surprise then turned back to Gibbs. "Did you hear from Agent David?"

"What's she got to do with it?" God, he hated when he was missing something. And now he was definitely missing something. And to make it worse, it seemed that whatever it was, it involved Ziva, too.

"She's our agent, who knows how to contact Agent Todd."

"Agent Todd?" McGee spoke up. "Caitlin Todd?"

"Yes."

"She's dead," Abby pointed out in a low voice.

"No, she's not," Tony spoke up slumped on the edge of his desk. "But she might as well be if that scumbag finds her. We've got to do something." He jumped up and reached for his badge and gun in the drawer. He was halfway to the elevator when Gibbs' voice stopped him.

"Get back here, DiNozzo." He waited till the other agent walked back dejectedly then he turned to Vance. "What's going on here? Is Kate alive? Is she in danger? Is Ziva in danger?"

"How does Ziva know about all this?" Tony asked.

"I have a better question," Gibbs turned to him. "How come you know about it?" Apparently Gibbs had a hard time keeping in check his quickly growing frustration. It was one thing to find out that the agent they'd buried was alive but it was a completely different matter that two of his own agents were involved. He hated when the higher-ups were playing with them.

"Where is Kate now?" Abby asked.

"Where is Ziva?" Gibbs had his own question.

"Here," came the simultaneous reply from both women, who walked up to the team with Adam between them, clinging to their hands.

"Oh my God," Abby breathed and took a few tentative steps towards the couple as if being afraid that it would all disappear if she wasn't careful enough. "You are really alive?" she asked when she stopped in front of Kate. Kate nodded with a warm smile and took Abby's hand that was uncertainly lingering in the air between them half-way up to her cheek. The contact was enough for the other woman to snap out of her shock and she quickly gathered Kate into a fierce hug.

Ziva watched with a bittersweet smile how Abby squeezed her friend then looked down when Adam pulled on her hand. The boy was clearly feeling uneasy with the new surrounding and all the unfamiliar faces staring in their direction. Ziva mouthed an 'it is all right' as she pulled him closer and tousled his brown hair.

"You're all right?" She was pulled out of her thoughts by Abby's question, who was still clinging to Kate. "They found that Marshal murdered…" she continued, clearly disturbed.

"It's all right, Abby," Ziva gave the other woman a reassuring smile and Abby reached out with a hand to squeeze Ziva's free one.

"Dad!" The three women were pulled out of their reverie by Adam's exclamation as he pulled free from Ziva's arms and ran to Tony. He stopped short in front of the man, though, and looked up at him with uncertain awe. In turn, Tony glanced at Kate with wide eyes and only when the woman nodded did he turn his eyes to the little boy.

"Hi," he started somewhat awkwardly well aware of all the eyes on him. He slowly crouched down and, for the first time, he took in the features of his son. He knew them well but seeing him for real took his breath away. He looked just like him but Tony couldn't help noticing little things on him that were undeniably Kate. He looked perfect.

Tony looked genuinely stunned when he suddenly found the little boy's arms around his neck. There was some chuckle around him. "Whoa there, buddy. I'm happy to meet you, too."

Adam pulled back and gave him a serious look. Tony cringed inwardly; that look was definitely Kate's. "'S all right, dad," he finally declared. "Mommy said you couldn't come to live with us but you thought about us a lot."

Tony was stunned and for a few seconds he remained speechless. He glanced at Kate once again and he could see how tense she was. "That's right, buddy," he gave the boy a smile then returned his gaze to meet Kate's eyes. "I did think about you a lot." The little smile that appeared on Kate's face warmed his heart and tousling Adam's hair, he stood and walked to the woman.

"Kate," he said eyes sparkling and they both knew what was coming. "Pregnancy did you good," he remarked with a grin as he made a great show running his eyes appreciatively along her frame. "Like the hips," he added with a wink.

"You are still a pig, DiNozzo." Kate smirked but the mirth was unmistakable in her voice.

"It's good to see you, Katie." Tony lost all pretence at once and looked at her with open affection. In return, Kate's features straightened, too, and she looked at him with warmness in her eyes.

"You, too, Tony," she smiled at Tony and he suddenly found his breath caught in his throat. God, he loved that woman. And as realization hit, a huge grin appeared on his face. He did love Kate Todd.

"Come here," was all he could say overwhelmed by his emotions he now could put a name to, and pulled Kate into a hug.

Ziva, relieved to see her friends reunited, stepped aside and walked up to the Director.

"What's going on, David?"

"They'd been waiting for her by her house," Ziva informed the Director in a low voice, not looking directly at him but keeping an eye on the happenings. Adam was again clinging to his mother's arm as he looked at Abby with big eyes. She turned to him at last. "It was a professional hit, Sir."

"You were supposed to contact the Bureau in case of compromise."

"I didn't want to risk it," Ziva said glancing to her right just to catch the end of McGee's hug as he greeted Kate. "They knew to whom they had to go to get information on Kate… How do you think they got the intel?"

"All right then," Vance adjusted his jacket, clearly troubled by the implications of Ziva's reasoning. "I'll see to it that Agent Todd's protection fall to us but I'm afraid that's the most I can do – if I can do it at all."

"What about the shooting?" Gibbs joined them. He'd been listening in on the conversation, he himself not joining the little party that gathered around Kate.

"You don't even know what we are up against," Vance looked at him.

"Doesn't matter," Gibbs shrugged. "Someone's after one of my family."

"This time, it's not your job to catch the bad guy. The case's the FBI's. They'd been working on this one for years together with the CIA, the Interpol and…"

"Mossad," Ziva added, turning to Gibbs. He noticed, though, that her gaze was directed to a spot on his shoulder.

"And yet, somebody's just tried to shoot Kate." He ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach and turned to the Director.

"Sorry, Gibbs." Vance shook his head. He knew what the man was talking about but his hands were tied. "All right, everybody," he turned to the team, "stay put! I have a call to make. The jurisdiction on this one is probably more complex than the tax system of Great Britain." With that he left.

Before joining the rest of the team, Gibbs and Ziva shared a look but Ziva was quick to divert her eyes while starting to join Adam, who was currently fussed over by an overly excited forensic expert. Well, if Adam had a crush on Ziva, Ziva was sure that Abby had a crush on the little boy.

A loud slap caught everybody's attention and suddenly every eye was on Tony as he delicately touched the back of his head. "I guess I should have seen that coming," he muttered as Gibbs passed him and finally stood face to face with Kate, who half expected to get her share of the infamous Gibbs-slap. What happened next, though, brought tears to her eyes. Gibbs stepped just a little bit closer and, after kissing her forehead, he hugged her murmuring into her hair, "Welcome home, Kate."

When Tony tried to complain about the unfair treatment, Ziva quickly shut him up with an elbow in the ribs. Adam let out a little chuckle at that and Tony looked at him disbelievingly. There were many things to teach his son. Maybe he could create his own set of rules – Rule 1: Always take your dad's side.

"It's good to be back," Kate told Gibbs when they pulled apart, obviously unaware of the little display that took place in the background.

"And now you can start talking," Gibbs said, aiming at looking stern but unable to mask his happiness at seeing his friend alive, his mirth only disappeared from his eyes when he turned to Ziva and he saw her tense up. Once again, he swallowed his disappointment and assumed a stern voice. "You too, David." Ziva shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. It made him uneasy.

Ever since their conversation, well… rather his abrupt confession and her quick retreat things were awkward between them. He didn't hold her choice against her. Hell, he understood her. Her uncharacteristic uncertainty around him worried him, though. He was truly afraid that he had just destroyed their deep friendship.

"We should go down to Autopsy," Abby suggested. "Ducky should know about Kate's return… and about the little man here."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Kate protested.

"Why?"

"Because of the little man?" Tony offered.

"Oh… True enough," Abby considered it. "Then we should call them up here."

"Already done," McGee informed her and Abby grinned at the man, sneaking her arm around his waist. McGee's subtle clearing of the throat made her jumped away from him. though. There were a few eyebrows raised at that but Abby was too embarrassed to notice it and the others chose not to comment. Tony mostly let it slip because both Kate and Ziva were giving him a death glare and he deemed it wiser to remain silent.

As it had been expected, Ducky wasn't all that surprised at Kate's being alive. It didn't diminish his joy, though, he felt at seeing the woman again. Jimmy was a completely other matter on the other hand. He hadn't known Kate that well to begin with and adding to that that she had come back from the dead, he felt utterly uncomfortable. Only Gibbs' stare could make an end to his nervous ramblings.

* * *

><p>The group finally retreated to a conference room where Kate began her explanation while Adam was happily chumming on some snack from the vending machine in her lap.<p>

She didn't quite go into details but it became clear that she and Ziva had met in Russia where the CIA was trying to bring down a smuggling group that supplied the Chechen army with American weapons. As it turned out Mossad was concerned, too, as many of the weapons ended up in Afghanistan in the possession of Taliban groups. The investigation led the two agencies to Grozny.

Kate went undercover there and managed to gain entrance to the circles of the Chechen group whose leader showed great interest towards her. With time, she gained invaluable information on the operations of the group which they realized had connections with the Russian mob in the States through Kate's "friend". During her mission Kate was supported by a group of CIA and Mossad operatives which Ziva was a part of.

All in all, the operation was a success. Important persons were eliminated and other connections were discovered. The only problem was that, for Kate, it ended with killing her "friend". The only problem with that was that his half-brother worked for the Russian mob back in the States and was hell-bent on avenging his brother's death. It took him a couple of years but he finally found Kate.

That was the point when Ziva came into the picture again. Although Mossad had nothing to do with the situation at that point, she was adamant on helping her friend. For this she enlisted her brother's help but against her good intentions, everything went to hell from that point. Ari started a personal Crusade against Gibbs and finally Ziva had no option but to stop him. Especially that Mossad had its own suspicions, too, concerning Ari's intentions and allegiance. It was a huge mass that ended with Ziva killing her brother and replacing Kate at NCIS.

Kate entered the Witness Protection Program and the case of Andrey Veksler was handed over to the FBI that, after five years, was still unable to apprehend Veksler.

Sometime during Kate and Ziva's explanation, Vance entered the conference room. He remained standing by the closed door with an unreadable expression taking in all the details he himself hadn't been aware of – including such personal accounts as Kate and Tony's involvement and how and why Tony had been informed about their colleague's fake death and how he got regular updates about his son's life he wasn't supposed to know about. Vance noted to himself with slight amusement that Kate Todd was surely a force to recon with if she'd been able to persuade Marshals Service to break protocol.

When the women finished their account, he stepped forward and demanded attention.

"What did they say?" Tony was the first to speak up, even beating the Director to it. "Can we go after the bastard who wants to kill my family?"

"First of all," Vance regarded the agent with a look that almost bordered on one that could be described as amused, "you are definitely not the one who would be allowed to 'go after' Veksler," he regarded. "Not even if NCIS had been given jurisdiction."

"Why?" Tony asked not understanding what he was saying.

"As you said, Agent DiNozzo, they are your family."

"My what?" he asked momentarily confused… then understanding downed and he turned to Kate with a little self-conscious smile.

"We weren't given jurisdiction," Gibbs observed during this little display and it was clear from his tone that he wasn't happy about that piece of information. And really, neither were his agents if their look was anything to go by.

Vance took a deep breath then shook his head. "In reality, it had never been an NCIS case. It just happened that Agent Todd had been working to us when steps had to be taken."

"That's all the more reason for us to take the case, Leon," Gibbs pointed out.

"I hear you," he reassured the agent. "Unfortunately SecNav doesn't see this that way."

"He doesn't want to step on anyone's toes," McGee stated the obvious.

"And I can understand that," the Director nodded. "This investigation is already a jurisdictional nightmare."

"I don't like it," Tony shook his head.

"Neither do I," Abby quipped. "We have to do something."

"What about the possible breach?" Ziva asked concerned.

"The agencies have been informed about that. They assured me that they'd act accordingly," Vance reassured her. "As I said before, there is nothing for us to do."

"Nothing, my ass," Tony snapped. "Somebody's out there putting hits on Kate and all the high-ups say is that we back off."

"There must be something we can do," Gibbs turned to Vance, not believing that they were expected to step back when one of them was in danger.

"I'm afraid not. Marshals Service will be here in half an hour to escort Agent Todd and her son to a safe house."

"Oh no… No more safe house and new identity," Tony shook his head with a scoff. "They're coming home with me where I can make sure that they are both safe."

"Tony…" the man warned but Tony interrupted him.

"With all due respect, Director Vance, it wasn't a suggestion. They are coming with me."

There was a long silence in the room but when Vance looked at Kate, she stood up with Adam sleeping in her arms and she stepped close to Tony. The Director took a deep breath. "All right then," he agreed finally, all the while thinking about what the hell to tell Marshals Service. "Get your family, Tony, and go home. As for the rest of you, I believe you have work to do." With that he left again.

It took for a little longer but finally Tony was on his way home with Kate and Adam while the others returned to their work clearly troubled by their inability to do anything concerning Kate's case.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

**A New Day Dawns**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

_At long last here is the third chapter. Thank you for everyone who's following this story._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 3

Kate watched with a gentle smile playing on her lips as Tony laid Adam carefully – though with the awkwardness of someone who didn't have much experience with children – on the couch then sat down besides him and kept watching the sleeping boy.

"I'm sorry," Kate spoke up finally, taking a seat in one of the armchairs. Tony turned to look at her and his startled expression prompted Kate to explain, "For turning your life upside down."

"Oh, you'd done that a long time ago," Tony chuckled and Kate let herself relax a little.

"I'm not asking for anything." Somehow she felt compelled to make that clear.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Because I know you, Tony. That's not the life you want."

"And what kind of life do I want?"

"Something with less commitment," she replied. "Look, Tony. When we started our relationship, I knew what I'd signed up for. Let's face it you were not the family guy. I hoped it'd lead somewhere, though. And it might have… but it was a long time ago. Many things have changed… we have changed," she shrugged with a sad expression averting her eyes from his then, with a heavy sigh, she looked back at him. "You should know, though, that your son loves you."

"My son, huh?" Tony said still not really believing that the little boy sleeping right next to him was his son. He knew about him. He thought about him. But seeing him as a real flesh and blood boy made his mind reel.

Kate waited patiently as Tony regarded their son with an expression that told her Tony was still trying to process the happenings of the day… and trying to decide how to feel.

"You're right," he finally turned back to her. "Everything has changed. I've changed… I've changed," he repeated contemplatively as a proud smile appeared on his face. And Kate knew that he'd made up his mind. "I'm ready, Kate. I've got no idea how I'll do this," he indicated among them," but I want to do this."

"I want it, too."

"But we don't have to rush, right? I mean I feel a little bit confused here… and quite freaked out," he added with a nervous chuckle.

His eyes followed Kate as she stood up and went to sit on the armrest of the couch.

"It's been five years, Tony." And as if emphasizing that, she looked down at their sleeping son. "Nobody expects you to continue where we'd left off." She turned back to him before adding, "Especially me."

"I kinda loved where we left off," Tony quipped as a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. Kate couldn't help but smile because that was the old Tony shining through… the Tony, who wouldn't pass up an opportunity to make some inappropriate comment.

"We've got to get to know each other again… and it takes time."

"So, we start getting to know the new 'us'?" Kate nodded. "All right, but I have to warn you that this new, improved version of Tony DiNozzo comes with some serious software improvement and well, let's be honest, the hardware - though not the newest model by any means - is still quite astonishing, too. I'd say impressive." Kate laughed out and a frown appeared on Tony's face. "Eww, that sounded just like McGeek."

"I missed you, Tony," Kate declared, cupping his face.

"I missed you, too, Katie," Tony answered with a serious expression as he pulled her closer to rest his forehead against hers. They stayed like that for a little longer just savoring the moment when Tony broke it at last, "Can I kiss you now?" Kate laughed out merrily but didn't protest.

When they pulled apart, Kate was taken aback by the expression Tony was giving her. He was smiling but it wasn't a smile she'd been so used to see. It wasn't cocky or mocking: the smile he usually used to give himself the illusion of self-confidence and mask his true feelings. It was open and affectionate… it was sincere.

Lost for words, she averted her eyes and they fell on a photo album. She reached for it and, before carefully opening it she looked at Tony asking for permission. He nodded then watched her looking at the pictures of Adam.

"You've always sent pictures of him…" he pointed out as Kate kept turning the pages, "...but never of you. I know that you couldn't really… but you could have smuggled one in there."

"I wasn't sure you wanted me to…"

"Why would you think that?"

"Tony, you're not the easiest person to read. I wasn't even sure you wanted to know about Adam." The hurt look on his face broke her heart. She put down the album and crouched in front of the man, taking his hands into hers. "I'm sorry, Tony. But you have to understand that it wasn't easy for me, either."

"I love my son," Tony told her, his tone bordering on being harsh. "I loved him ever since I saw that first sonogram picture. And I wanted to know about you… I wanted to see you. Sometimes it was difficult to believe that you were indeed alive. And it scared me."

"Tony…"

"It's all right," he stopped her from apologizing and this time his voice was gentle. He reached out to caress her cheek and Kate leant into his touch. "You're here now. And I won't let you pull a stunt like that again."

"Well, Anthony DiNozzo, if I hadn't known you better, I'd think you just threatened me with your permanent presence in my life."

"Damn right I did."

"You've changed a lot, Tony."

"We've already established that."

"Yeah… Now I just hope that I'm still the woman you…"

"Love?" Tony finished for her when she seemed hesitant to do so. Kate raised her head and looked at him expectantly. Tony cupped her cheek. "Would you run away screaming if I told you that you'd always been that woman?"

"Wow. What about taking it slow?"

"We're taking it slow" he reassured her. "You don't even have to say anything. I just thought you should know… now that we're talking about it. Just, please, don't go away."

"We've just got home."

"We'll stay with daddy?" A sleepy voice asked from below.

"Of course you will," Tony scooped up the little boy and sat him in his lap. "We are a family; we're supposed to be together." For a moment, Tony looked genuinely stunned as if not really believing that he had just said that and with such ease nonetheless.

"That's what you wanted, sweetheart, right?" rising to take the spot on the couch that had been previously occupied by Adam, Kate asked her son, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Now they will believe that I have a daddy."

"They didn't believe that you had a daddy?" Tony looked at her son disbelievingly.

"No. Andy Banks always says that I'm a liar."

"That's really mean of him," Tony said, exchanging a look with Kate. "But you know what? He was wrong."

"I know," Adam stated matter-of-factly. "I told him he's dumb."

While Kate sighed, really not impressed with this move of her son, Tony laughed out bemused.

"That he is," he agreed and while Adam grinned at him, Kate gave him a death glare. Tony gulped.

"Who's up for some early dinner?" he inquired eager to move on. "I'm starving."

"Me too," Adam was quick to agree.

Kate sighed. She really had her job cut out for her with those two.

"What about pizza?" Tony suggested and Adam's eyes lit up.

"Pizza? Really, DiNozzo?"

"I like pizza," Adam quipped and Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes while Tony grinned at his son.

"That's my boy," he said tousling his hair and while Kate wanted to be annoyed with him for already trying to spoil the child, the ease with which he told that made her warm inside. "Wanna choose?" While Adam was nodding enthusiastically, Tony put him on the floor and together, they started towards the phone.

"You spoil him, you deal with him," Kate called after Tony with her sternest voice but a smile crept on her face nonetheless.

While the boys were good-humoredly arguing about pizza toppings and whether olive really tasted gross, Kate leant back in the couch and closed her eyes. She could physically feel the exhaustion crawl on her as her limbs began to feel heavy and she became aware of a dull throbbing behind her eyes.

"So CIA, huh?" It wasn't long before Tony plopped down next to her and though her eyes were closed, she could just imagine the teasing look he was no doubt wearing. She shrugged nonchalantly without opening her eyes.

"What should I say? That was my dream."

"Don't worry, Katie, everybody makes mistakes."

"Very funny, Tony."

"I was serious," he deadpanned. "It's worse than FBI. Though Secret Service is not that bad."

"Well, my carrier wasn't that long there," Kate remarked dryly then opened her eyes as if something had just occurred to her. "Where's Adam?"

"Don't worry, I didn't lose him. He found my Playboy magazines behind the cookie jar and he's currently thumbing through the September issue. Boy's got good taste, I have to tell you. That cute blonde with the huge…"

"I'll kill you, DiNozzo," Kate told him scandalized. She was halfway up from her seat when Tony pulled her back with a laugh.

"Come on, Kate, chill a little. I know how to occupy a kid. He's got glued to my laptop and is busy drawing nondescript figures. Obviously, he didn't inherit your artistic talent. And obviously his mommy doesn't let him sit by the computer all that much."

"Of course she doesn't," Kate agreed. "And I think we have to talk about parenting methods before he starts worshipping you and I become the bad one."

"We will talk about it," he readily agreed. "But not today. As far as I'm concerned, he can ask me to head slap Gibbs and I'd do it."

"Now, that's something I'm willing to test," Kate gave him a daring look and Tony's expression turned genuinely scared.

"Don't you dare, you hear me? Don't you dare!"

"Then don't give me ideas." Kate laughed merrily as she scooted closer to Tony and snuggled into his side. Tony relaxed as he pulled her closer.

* * *

><p>Gibbs stood in his basement leaning against his workbench and staring at a spot on the floor. The once dark stain was hardly visible now; the years made it fade away gradually… but not the memories.<p>

He remembered the night clearly when an unbreakable bond had been formed between him and his young Israeli agent. With the fading contour of the stain, his relationship with her became more and more definite… stronger.

It was just fitting that the fifth anniversary of Kate's death would prompt him to address their undefined relationship and give a name to it. Love. He was in love with Ziva David and he suspected that the feeling was mutual.

In the silence of the basement, he let out a rueful chuckle.

It sounded like a bad romance novel.

Where he stood right now, though, it felt more like a bad joke. He had to lose an agent to meet the woman he could really love… he had to grieve for his friend to finally realize that life had to be lived not remembered. Then came the punch line.

Kate wasn't dead… and Ziva didn't return his feelings.

To say that he hadn't been surprised to see Kate walk into the squad room would be a lie but he knew enough about undercover ops and witness protection to understand the reasons behind her disappearance. Apart from feeling annoyed because of his inability to help her, he was glad to have Kate back. Not even that immense guilt he'd been carrying with himself over the years could make him feel anger towards her.

Plus, if it hadn't been for her "death", he would probably have never met Ziva…

He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He should really stop acting like a lovesick teenager.

Yes, he opened his eyes and pushed himself away from the workbench. It was time to think with his head and not with his overly emotional heart.

He realized that there weren't many things talked about between him and Ziva. Truth was, he hadn't done more than stepping up to her and informing her – in an admittedly brisk manner – that he had feelings for her. _I want you_, he recalled telling her and he had to groan. Way to scare a girl, Jethro. The next thing he knew was Ziva apologizing and practically running away. Yes, there were definitely issues left unaddressed.

With sudden determination, Gibbs stated towards the stairs and, taking two at a time, he was by the front door in a couple of seconds. Hardly did he open the door, though, when he came face to face with the woman he had planned to visit.

"Ziva," he breathed surprised and watched as the woman blinked up at him obviously stunned by his sudden appearance. "I was on my way to your place," he offered when Ziva remained silent.

"I was on my way to Tony's," she gave him a stuttered answer. She looked confused.

"That's not DiNozzo's place," he stated the obvious, he himself being at a loss seeing her strange behavior.

"Right." Ziva straightened and for the first time since she arrived, she seemed completely aware of her surroundings. "I am sorry. I'll just go." With downcast eyes, she turned to leave.

"Wait," Gibbs reached out to get hold of her wrist, trying to stop her. However, when she tilted her head to look at him, he hastily let it go. "Why are you here?"

"I told you," she whispered. "I wanted to go and check on Kate and Adam."

He sighed. "Then why did you come here?"

Ziva started to talk but didn't get further than opening her mouth before she closed it again. "I don't know," she finally admitted.

"Come on," he reached for her once again. "Let's go inside." Gently he nudged her to start moving and, though reluctantly, Ziva stepped into the house.

Gibbs went to the kitchen and produced two glasses from one of the cupboards then opened another one and got a glass of bourbon out of it. As he broke the seal and poured, he smiled wryly. It was a rare occasion when he drank from an actual glass. Usually he only drank while working down in his basement and he'd never really bothered taking down some glasses.

"Here," he offered a glass to Ziva, who was sitting on the couch in the living room. She accepted it with a small, hesitant smile then quickly downed its content. Gibbs raised an eyebrow but followed suit.

Putting down his glass, he sat down next to her and waited a couple of seconds before speaking up.

"I'm sorry," he told her and Ziva's head snapped to look at him.

"For what?"

"For making you feel uncomfortable."

"Why would you say that?" she frowned.

"Because obviously you're uncomfortable around me," he pointed out.

"That's not true," Ziva protested, however her posture told otherwise.

"Don't have to lie to me. I can see it." He sighed troubled. "All I want to say is... I don't want you to feel that way. It's never been my intention. Whatever happened… I won't hold it against you. I understand you…"

"Do you?" Ziva asked and Gibbs could practically feel his heart break seeing the hope in her eyes. Maybe there was nothing more to talk about. He'd apologize, suggest they should forget about his declaration and move on.

He nodded.

"And you are not angry at me? Are you not disappointed?" She regarded him suspiciously and with a great amount of uncertainty.

"I'm not angry at you and don't really see why should be disappointed in you."

"Because I lied to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"About Kate..." she told him but then understanding downed on her. "But that is not what you were talking about."

"No," he shook his head with a ghost of an affectionate smile. Maybe there was hope after all. "No, it's not." When Ziva's expression turned blank, he continued, "You didn't lie," he shrugged, deciding to dissipate Ziva's worries first. "You simply didn't tell me everything. You were protecting Kate… and I'll be always grateful for that," he finished with that same little smile he had started but then his face became more somber as he sighed. "What I was talking abou…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Ziva's lips on his effectively cut him off. Her kiss was fierce as she pulled his head closer to hers with a firm grip on the back of his neck. When they pulled apart an excited grin was playing on her lips. Gibbs was flabbergasted. He cleared his throat then returned her grin with his own lopsided one.

"Guess you're not really interested in that, huh?"

"In that? No," Ziva chuckled shaking her head. Gibbs would surely have been amazed by the quick change in her demeanor if he hadn't been so stunned by the turn of events. "In you?" she raised a questioning eyebrow, already closing the distance between them. "Yes," she breathed then kissed him gently. "But you did not think so," she observed when they pulled apart. It seemed that she was catching up with him.

"Not my fault," he deflated thoroughly embarrassed by his lack of self-confidence. There weren't many people who could make him question himself in a way Ziva had done. "Running out on me doesn't really scream 'interested' to me."

"I am sorry."

"Don't be. I didn't really go easy on you." When Ziva didn't seem to get his meaning, he continued, "I was rather blunt."

A smile formed on her lips when she understood. "Blunt works for me," she told him.

"Good." Gibbs nodded with a satisfied smile.

"Good." Ziva returned his smile. "I want you, too."

"Blunt sure works for me, too," he murmured with a grin just before he pulled Ziva into a deep kiss.

To Gibbs' utmost amazement they spent the greater part of an hour making out on his couch like two teenagers. He wasn't one to argue, though. He thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Ziva even more so when it involved kissing and touching and those oh-so-sexy moans that escaped her lips now and then.

"Stay the night?" he husked into her ear as he once again sneaked his hand under her shirt to run his fingers along her side.

"I would love to…" Ziva gasped, closing her eyes. "God, I'd really love to…" She took a deep shaky breath before opening her eyes and looking into Gibbs' "…but I'm worried about Kate. After what happened in Boston…"

"Oh, yes," Gibbs answered with his lips pressed against her throat, his hands not stopping. "You were on your way to DiNozzo's."

"What?" Ziva asked momentarily distracted then nodded when she could make sense of his words. "Yes. I was."

"You do know that there're uniforms watching the building?"

"Because that works so well all the time," Ziva actually managed to cock an eyebrow as Gibbs' hand stopped and his lips left her skin. He rose and looked at her.

"Point taken," he relented then, with a final kiss on her lips, he moved to stand up. A cocky smile turned his lips upward when he noted Ziva's disappointed look. "Let's go then." He offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet when she took it.

On their way to the front door, Gibbs sneaked his arms around Ziva's waist and pulled her against him so that her back was flash against his front as they made a couple of steps together. "We'll continue this later," he murmured into her ear and Ziva pressed against him even more.

"You can count on it," she answered and gave him a beautiful smile when he loosened his hold on her.

They'd definitely continue later.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

**A New Day Dawns**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

_So this is the final chapter. Once again thank you so much for reading this story. And I have to apologize in advance as, although a part of this chapter had already been written, it was completed in a rush so not everything had turned out as I'd have liked. But anyway… Enjoy!_

Chapter 4

A smile appeared on Ziva's face when, after stepping out of the car in front of Tony's apartment building, Gibbs reached out to take her hand as they made their way to the front door. They spotted the civil officers a little farther down the road and watched satisfied when a police car rounded the corner. Maybe there would be no problem.

She smiled up at Gibbs when they stopped in front of Tony's door and he reached up to knock without letting her hand go.

There was some shuffling behind the door, presumably Tony checking the peephole, then the door opened and Tony appeared sporting a huge grin.

"Hey, Zeevah… and Gibbs," he added surprised when his eyes fell on his boss. "Are you holding hands?" he asked as if anticipating an answer in the negative, all the while his grin forming into a confused frown.

The two on the other side of the door exchanged a look and Tony could have sworn that they wore an identical smirk. That was until Ziva unceremoniously brushed past him to greet the little boy who'd been running up to them.

While Ziva greeted Adam and got an earful of his day, Gibbs stepped into the apartment, too and stopped in front of Tony with a look that clearly challenged the younger man to make a remark.

And Tony readily put his foot in his mouth.

"I didn't picture you as her type. Not as if I had been thinking about it. I just guessed he'd be more…"

"Younger?" Gibbs suggested with a raised eyebrow. Tony gulped.

"I was to say dark and dangerous… you know, the Mossad-type. But hey, she's becoming Miss America, of course the silent and grave type's becoming more appealing to her."

"Silent and grave?"

"The marine-type," Tony supplied then opened his mouth to say something more but he quickly changed his mind. "Hey, why don't we go inside," he suggested instead, "and join the others instead of having this awkward conversation?"

As an answer Gibbs gave a slight nod accompanied by a humorous smirk then he continued into the apartment.

Tony closed the door with another frown. That last few minutes of his life was admittedly strange… and that said a lot, seeing that he'd spent the late afternoon in the company of a four-year-old.

"Where is Kate?" Ziva inquired after they had settled down in the living room and Adam ran out to bring in Tony's laptop to show his artwork to the woman.

"She was practically dead on her feet so I told her to go and lie down for a little."

"Long night, huh?" Gibbs looked at Ziva, who nodded and told them how Kate had been awake during the whole drive from Boston, alert to everything that was around them. "But somebody looks full of energy," Gibbs remarked when Adam ran back with laptop in hand and quickly placed it on the coffee table for Ziva to see.

"Yeah," Tony agreed in a tone that suggested he'd had his hands full with the kid during the afternoon. "He'd had a nap when we got home," he looked at Adam as the boy monopolized Ziva's attention. "He's been on a roll ever since."

Gibbs laughed at the expression on the other man's face, "Get used to it, DiNozzo," he advised.

He looked slightly panicked but then their attention was demanded by Adam, who seemed to have finished his exhibition and lost interest in the computer. He was excited, though, as ever.

"Can we watch_ Mulan_?" he asked looking at all the adults in turn, only for his eyes to stop at Ziva. "Daddy has a whole lotta movies," he shared excited. "He said I can't watch a lot of them," he remarked somewhat rejected but he quickly resumed his previous attitude. "But I can watch a lot of them, too. Can we watch _Mulan_?"

"Of course we can," Tony told him and stole a glance at Gibbs. "I bet Uncle Jethro here has never watched it," he grinned, "and we don't want him to miss it, right, buddy?" Tony said and Adam nodded enthusiastically. Ziva giggled when Gibbs rolled his eyes not at all excited about the prospect to watch the cartoon. He didn't protest, though, just gave a warning look to Tony when he clapped him on the shoulder as he went to get the DVD.

Ziva looked at him sympathetically then, squeezing his knee, she stood up and turned to Adam. "I'll go and check on your mom while you watch the movie." When the little boy looked somewhat saddened by that, she leant closer to him and told him conspiringly, "Make sure Uncle Jethro learns the songs. I am quite certain he loves to sing."

If it was possible, Adam became more excited than before and looked at Gibbs with huge twinkling eyes.

Before leaving, Ziva gave the man a cocky look. "Have fun, boys," she called behind her back. Gibbs watched her leave with mild trepidation and no small amount of disbelief.

* * *

><p>Ziva found Kate asleep in Tony's bed. Without giving it a second thought, she stripped to her underwear and T-shirt and slipped in bed with Kate. It was just like back in Boston where they had spent countless nights lying in bed talking about anything and everything. It was their kind of girls' night in. But giving it a second thought – Ziva mused leaning against the headboard – having their girls' night in in Tony's bed was somewhat disturbing… and kind of hilarious.<p>

Ziva snickered.

Kate shifted next to her and turned around, blinking up at her friend.

"Ziva?"

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"Just lying in Tony's bed basically only in my underwear and thinking about all the things he could say to that."

"Okay," was all Kate said as she turned on her back and pulled the covers up to her neck. It didn't take long for her to start laughing in which Ziva readily joined. When they calmed somewhat, she slid down to lay side by side with Kate. They remained like that for some time.

"How did it go with Tony?" Ziva asked after a little stretch of silence.

"He was great," Kate sighed.

"Then why do I detect sadness in your voice?"

"It's not sadness, it's more like… uncertainty," Kate sighed. "He's so happy to have us back in his life and I'm happy to be back, I'm happy just to see Tony and Adam together but… What if it's not what he really wants?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ziva, he had five years to live his life. Me, on the other hand? I was stuck in the past, living someone else's life. He moved on while I was raising his baby, clinging to the memory of a relationship that might not have gone anywhere at the first place. What if…"

"Kate," Ziva cut him off. "Stop it. If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that Tony didn't get over you. I can't tell how he feels for you but he missed you, both of you. And if he really wasn't ready for this or willing to give it a try, he'd be running the other way by now." Ziva reached for Kate's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You have time, Kate. You'll figure it out."

"Yeah," Kate sighed. "We will. We have to," she said determinedly. "So, did I hear Gibbs' voice?" Ziva nodded. "You are our protection detail?"

"No, I just wanted to come over and he tagged along."

"There is something you're not telling me," Kate narrowed her eyes looking at her friend.

"Maybe…" she told her with an enigmatic smile that made Kate's eyes widen as she looked at her friend with a mixture of surprise and excitement.

"Ohmygod!" she exclaimed. "You and Gibbs… that was what you were referring to when you said he'd get over you. It's totally skipped my mind. Well, I guess it means he won't get over you after all."

"I certainly hope he won't," Ziva agreed with a happy smile.

* * *

><p>After Ziva's suggestion to teach Uncle Jethro the songs of the movie, Adam changed his mind and insisted on watching <em>The Jungle Book<em> because that had so much more funny songs. The men were less than enthusiastic when Adam actually began instructing them but they both were too smitten by his charm to protest. They obediently sang along.

Fortunately, half-way through the movie a knock could be heard on the front door.

Tony once again made sure that there was no threat before opening the door that revealed an anxious Abby and a somewhat embarrassed McGee. And it seemed that they were both wearing their nightwear.

As they all stepped into the living room where Adam only spared them a sideway glance and a quick wave – so engrossed he was in his movie, the duo found themselves at the receiving end of two sets of inquisitive eyes.

"Abby wouldn't stop bugging me to come over," McGee offered as an explanation.

"And just what were you doing with Abby in your PJs at 10 p.m.?" Gibbs posed the obvious question.

"Ah! You were together, weren't you?" Tony guessed and suddenly McGee assumed the deer-in-the-headlights-look.

"Er… I didn't mean that," McGee began to stammer. "I meant that… er… she… called. Yes. She called… repeatedly. On the phone. I wasn't there… with her. No," he shook his head adamantly.

"It's all right, Tim," Gibbs finally smiled. He couldn't help enjoying when the young man got all flustered.

"No, Boss, really… we weren't… What?" He looked at Abby when she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He said it's all right. You can stop now."

"Oh."

"So," Abby turned back to Gibbs, "Rule 12 is dead."

"Apparently."

"You want to know the best part of it?" Tony asked itching to share the new turn of events. "Gibbs gave it the coup de grace."

"No way," Abby's eyes widened with surprise as she began bouncing excitedly while looking at Gibbs for any indication that Tony had indeed said the truth. When she deemed Gibbs' expression evidence enough of that, she jumped into his arms and squeezed him.

While Gibbs gently tried to pry Abby off of him, McGee looked on with a frown, not really sure how to interpret Tony's words.

"Hard to believe, huh, McStatue?" Tony nudged him with a huge grin and McGee blinked.

"I don't think I know what this whole excitement is about," he admitted, looking at his companions.

"I love you, Tim, but you're so clueless sometimes," Abby rolled her eyes. "So," without waiting for a reaction from her boyfriend, Abby turned to Gibbs. "Where's Ziva?"

"In the bedroom with Kate. She'd gone to bed earlier," the man answered and Abby's eyes lit up.

"Pajama party! Sweet," she remarked excitedly and promptly started towards Tony's room.

"Ziva's here, too?" McGee asked and Tony groaned.

"Would you snap out of it, McGee? Of course she's here," he told him and gave him a look that clearly suggested that the younger man should really know what everybody was talking about.

"Okay," McGee drawled, trying really hard to make sense of the conversation.

"She's with me, Tim," Gibbs finally supplied. "Ziva's with me," he repeated.

At last, it seemed that it started to dawn on McGee as his features first turned blank as the wheels were working in his brain then his eyes lit up with understanding.

"Oh," he started hesitantly with the first hint of understanding. "Oh," he continued when the penny finally dropped. "You are with Ziva," he repeated Gibbs' statement and by the time he'd finished the sentence, he was grinning.

"Thank God," Tony exclaimed exasperatedly and no doubt, he would have followed that exclamation with a witty comment about his friend's cognitive abilities if it hadn't been for his son.

"Shhh," Adam looked at the men with reproach when he got fed up with the commission. When the men looked at him, he arched an eyebrow and gave them an exasperated look before turning back to his movie.

"All right," Tony started, "maybe we should take this conversation into the kitchen," he suggested. "Or we could always join him and start singing 'I Want to Be Like You' again. That was fun, wasn't it, Boss?"

"Kitchen. Now," Gibbs ordered and the others followed. McGee once again felt that he was missing something but he decided against voicing his thoughts.

When the men settled in the kitchen, silence overtook them and they sat around the table listening to the sounds coming from the living room.

"I apologize…" Gibbs broke their reverie. "To both of you."

First both men looked at Gibbs confused then, when understanding dawned, they looked genuinely embarrassed and, lacking anything better to say, they simultaneously reminded Gibbs of Rule 6. A half-smile appeared on the older man's face, proud of his boys. "Guess some of those rules need revision." He remarked dryly. "Anyway… this time I really do owe you an apology. Those rules are meant to make life less complicated and God knows, I made your life quite difficult with some of them. What?" He asked when he got no reaction.

"Uhm… Boss?" McGee asked tentatively – and to a certain level, unbelievingly. "Are we having a heart-to-heart here?"

"No," Gibbs scoffed, but his mimicry showed that they were indeed having a heart-to-heart. And they all knew that. It was a little awkward but only because of the unfamiliar territory.

"All right then," Tony sighed with theatrical relief. "But in the spirit of not having a heart-to-heart, we should apologize, too." McGee nodded agreeing. "We did break one of your most cited rules… not counting Rule 6, of course."

"And I did, too."

"Yeah." Tony grinned. "About that…" Gibbs narrowed his eyes not really sure he liked where Tony was going. "Ziva, huh? She's something else, right?"

"That she is, DiNozzo. That she is."

"We are happy for you, Boss," McGee told him sincerely then turned to Tony. "And for you, too, Tony." He smiled as Tony shifted uncomfortable. "So, what is it like – Dad?"

"Very funny, McGee."

The smile froze on the younger man's face for a moment. "I'm serious. You talked with Kate, right? I mean you tried to sort this out?"

"You mean before you all invaded my apartment? Yes, we talked," he informed them but didn't elaborate any further.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs looked at him somewhat between concerned and warning. Tony sighed.

"I'm scared to death here, Boss," he admitted. "What if I can't do this? I mean, damn, I had five years to think about it, and believe me, I've found many ways to screw up… but none of that scared me that much than actually having him here."

"You love him, DiNozzo?"

"Yes."

"Then it'll work itself out because you'll always do your damnedest to know him safe and happy."

"And what about Kate?"

"Oh, you'll do your damnedest to know her happy, too," Gibbs told him smiling knowingly, "because if not, you'll have to face me… and that goes for you, too, McGee." Gibbs gave them his sternest look but it didn't get the desired effect.

"You do know that we are talking about a forensic expert and a trained agent, who'd spent too much time with a Mossad officer with crazy ninja skills, who is, by the way, your new girlfriend," Tony pointed out. "In short…"

"Any of us screws up, they are dead," McGee concluded.

"We've only got to get a number," Tony added then looked towards the doorway as if something had just occurred to him. "Speaking about the Deadly Trio… they're suspiciously absent."

"Maybe they've fallen asleep. You said Kate was sleeping."

"She was…" Tony started then a huge grin appeared on his face. "If they've all fallen asleep that would mean… I've got see that." With that he shot out of his seat.

"Oh boy," McGee remarked as he stood up, too and with Gibbs they followed their friend to the bedroom.

"Look at that!" Tony exclaimed in an excited whisper when he stopped in the door of the bedroom with the others in tow. "Who would have thought that I'd get all three of them into my bed… at the same time," He asked smugly and not a little amused at the sight of the three women sleeping peacefully in his bed.

His excited grin he'd been wearing quickly turned into a wince when both Gibbs and McGee's hand connected with the back of his head. Neither of them looked impressed.

They watched the women a couple of moments longer when Gibbs finally spoke up.

"You have a pack of cards, DiNozzo?"

"I do…" Tony answered as they stepped back so that he could close the door. "But I thought we should watch _The Lion King,_" he suggested. "Plenty of good songs in there," he teased, successfully avoiding a head slap coming his way, then murmuring the words of 'Hakuna Matata' under his breath, he slung an arm over McGee's shoulders and started towards the kitchen.

And while McGee looked on confused as Tony kept on humming, the little group returned to the kitchen - Tony stopping in the living room to pull a blanket over the sleeping form of his son and to turn off the TV – in a good mood, intent on watching the dreams of the rest of their makeshift family.

They knew that the next day would dawn filled with uncertainties and obstacles they'd have to overcome but for now they gained strength from being together, being whole.

**THE END**

_Thanks for reading!_


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